Permanent link

Issue date

Metadata

Collections

Abstract

The terrorist attack in Norway, on July 22nd 2011, was the worst attack the country had experienced since world war two. The loss of 77 people, most of them children and young adults, left the country in deep mourning. Early on, it was clear that the perpetrator had been active on websites that contained sentiments and attitudes supporting the extreme-right. In the end on July that same year, The Norwegian security police, PST, stated the terrorist attack could lead to at decline in the support for the extreme-right groups. Now, five years later, we know this did not happen. In Norway there are several different extreme-right groups like Vigrid, SIAN and Norwegian Defence Leauge, which we have limited in-depth information about. One relatively new extreme-right group in Norway is named Den nordiske motstandsbevegelsen (Nordfront), and this is the one group I have chosen to do an in-depth look at in this thesis. My research questions are: 1) Who is Nordfront, 2) what type of extreme-right organisation is it, and 3) are they a threat to the Norwegian society? By looking at theory that explains what extreme-right groups are, what types of extreme-right groups we can find and information about the organization itself, I found that Nordfront can be classified as a neo-Nazi organization. This is also supported by the analysis done on their internet-articles from their web page in the period 01.01.15-01.01.16. This analysis showed that the organization presented Jews, immigrants, the media and the government, homosexuals and bisexuals as enemies, which fits with the description of a neo-Nazi group. The analysis also indicated that the organization can be a threat to the Norwegian society in two ways: by the use of violence and in an ideological way. Although we don’t have an exact number on members in Norway and the leader of the organization has expressed that the group only tolerates violence as self-defence, there have been several altercations at demonstrations held in Sweden. PST has also expressed its concern about the groups’ willingness to use violence. I find however that it is the ideological threat that is the most troubling. The organization uses several different tactics to appeal to new members and supporters, and if they succeed in spreading its sentiments and attitudes to more people this could have serious consequences for the people of Norway and the Norwegian society, as we know it.